EUthyroid coordinator Henry Völzke was part of a 70-strong invited audience on the occasion of German Chancellor Angela Merkel visiting Griefswald for the local council election campaign. After a short presentation, she opened a discussion about science and research in Germany and listened to the concerns of the invited scientists.
Henry Völzke used this platform to comment on how hard it is to obtain prevalence data in Germany to run associations with findings from longitudinal cohort studies being conducted. He used the example of Denmark, where registry data is centralized and of a very high standard. He went on to explain why the Scandinavian partners in EUthyroid have a much better idea regarding IDD monitoring than in Germany. He praised the Scandinavian Model as a best practice example for access to registry data and the ability to monitor different non-communicable diseases. Angela Merkel was very interested in the example that Henry Völzke mentioned and even noted the ‘Scandinavian Model’ in order to pass it onto the relevant ministries.
An article (in German) concerning the event as whole can be read here:
http://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/Vorpommern/Greifswald/Kanzlerin-Die-Bahnanbindung-ist-eine-Katastrophe
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